Improving Forest Health

by Morgan Smith, American Forest Foundation, and Lisa Hayden, New England Forestry Foundation

Your woods offer a variety of benefits including recreation, wildlife, family legacy, scenery, income, and more. Regardless of what value your woods provide, you likely love your woods and want to keep them healthy into the future.

Many of us take family vacation in August. Some of us go to the beach while others prefer time in our woods. As you walk in your woods with your family, consider what do you love about your woods? Maybe it is a special grove of trees, the stream, a good bird watching/listening spot, or a tranquil spot. As you think of that special place, what do you want it to look like when your children or grandchildren inherit the land? A forester can help you write a forest management plan that meets your management goals and ensures your forest remains healthy.

Women and our Woods is teaming up with Women of the Maine Outdoors to offer an action-packed workshop for women woodland owners and outdoor enthusiasts! Join us Saturday, April 29 at Pine Tree Camp in Rome, Maine for engaging, hands-on classes in a variety of forest-based topics.

A good aspen clear-cut mimics a natural disaster replacing an old stand with healthy seedlings. In the process it creates wildlife habitat for species that prefer young forests or the forests edge. Learn the key components of a successful regeneration cut.

“Harvest for Habitat” means thoughtfully and purposely harvesting trees in your woodlands to improve wildlife habitat. A well-planned tree harvest can improve the food and cover for specific wildlife by creating new growth and diversifying the ages, heights, and species of trees in your woodlands. Carefully planning which trees to harvest and retain can reap long-term habitat benefits beyond your own woodland.

Pagination

The Oregon Department of Forestry discovered that Christmas trees shipped to big box stores such as Walmart were infected by the elongate hemlock scale. This pest feeds on the underside of needles and leaves behind a waxy residue that diminishes the tree's health. If the scale spreads into the natural forest, it could have a devastating impact on fir, spruce, and iconic Douglas fir trees.

This past September marked the 5th Women and Their Woods Educational Retreat hosted by the Delaware Highlands Conservancy. The event this year was held at the Highlights Family Foundation's Workshop Facility in scenic Wayne County, PA.

One of the first retreats was attended by a woman named Norma Dale Smith. Norma had had close ties to family land since she was a little girl, and now her grandchildren were getting involved. Inspired from the retreat, Norma gathered all her stories from the land, put them into book form, and published the book to give to her children and grandchildren. Even while she was learning more about managing the land, Norma was also continuing to forge a connection to the land for herself and her family. Norma’s books have been printed and shared with participants at the WOW workshops.

Ponderosa pine forests of the Southwest are home to the native bark beetle. However, human influence, denser forests, and increased temperatures and drought events have led to recent bark beetle outbreaks that threaten the health of ponderosa stands. Where dead trees stand, fire can move as much as three times more rapidly, creating dangerous conditions for firefighters and residents. Restoration treatments can be used to help restore the balance needed in ponderosa pine ecosystems.

What do all these insects have in common? They were all brought to North America from Asia or Europe. These exotic insects have caused havoc in our forests because the trees they attack have developed little resistance to them. Our forests are filled with native insects that attack and sometimes kill trees, but because these insects evolved along with their hosts, they don’t cause complete mortality that non-native species can.

Mission

The Women Owning Woodlands web project strives to bring topical, accessible, and current forestry information to woodland owners and forest practitioners through news articles, blogs, events, resources, and personal stories. We support women in forest leadership, women who manage their own woodlands, and all who facilitate the stewardship of forests. Learn More.